Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• GOP leader: Obama may act in Iraq without signoff
• In Washington, growing chorus calls for Iraq's Maliki to go
• Biden calls three Iraqi leaders to urge unity against ISIL insurgents
• Biden praises Iraqi leaders for unity against ISIL
• Ghost of Iraq haunts Condoleezza Rice portrait unveiling
• Tehran, world powers 'begin drafting nuclear deal'
• Official: 150 Australians fighting in Syria, Iraq
• Bergdahl’s Roommate: Court-Martial Him
• Iraq's al-Maliki extends overtures to rivals
• Iraqi detainee at Guantanamo charged with war crimes
• President Obama weighs 'do nothing' option in Iraq
• Iraqi faces charges after 7 years at Guantanamo
• Maliki or ISIS? Neither looks good to Sunni Awakening veterans
• Partisan civility as Kerry honors Condoleezza Rice
• YOU BET THIS IS SWIFTBOATING
• Chile Ends Spain’s Reign
• Gulf nations struggle with Iraq militant blowback
• Republican leader: Obama may act on own in Iraq
• US sees no 'major disruption' to Iraqi oil supplies
• Congressman Fattah Statement on Iraq
• The Cheneys’ Permanent War
• Fed holds course on lowered US growth forecast
• Glenn Beck’s Iraq Flip Flop
• Obama under pressure to respond to Iraq crisis
• Obama, Congress leaders reviewed options for Iraq: White House
• From Combat to Compost, Veteran's New Gig is Green and Rewarding
• Obama: No additional authority to act in Iraq
• Wall Street gains on Fed's view; S&P 500 ends at a record
• What to do in Iraq? Obama consults Congress
• TSX hits six-year high after Fed comments, nears record
• Freed Bahraini activist urges government to seek reconciliation
• Oil slips below $106 on supply data
• Iraq asks United States for air support to counter rebels
• ISIS advance in Iraq forces Gulf donors to rethink their patronage
• Iraqi leaders' sectarianism fueled militant advance: US
• Partisan civility as Kerry fetes Condoleezza Rice
• Global oil prices diverge as market eyes Iraq
• Democrat vs. Democrat: five tough primaries that pit left against itself
• Boehner Says Obama Should 'Absolutely Not' Coordinate With Iran On Iraq Crisis
• Iraq strategy: Obama, Congress leaders meeting

GOP leader: Obama may act in Iraq without signoff Posted: 18 Jun 2014 05:11 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and congressional leaders believe he does not need authorization from Congress for some steps he might take to quell the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency sweeping through Iraq, the Senate's top Republican and Capitol Hill aides said after the president briefed senior lawmakers Wednesday.

In Washington, growing chorus calls for Iraq's Maliki to go Posted: 18 Jun 2014 05:07 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama came under pressure from U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday to persuade Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to step down over what they see as failed leadership in the face of an insurgency threatening his country. As Obama held an hour-long meeting with congressional leaders on U.S. options in Iraq, administration officials joined a chorus of criticism of Maliki, faulting him for failing to heal sectarian rifts that militants have exploited. Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional hearing that Maliki's Shi'ite-led government had asked for U.S. air power to help counter Sunni militants who have overrun northern Iraq.

Biden calls three Iraqi leaders to urge unity against ISIL insurgents Posted: 18 Jun 2014 05:05 PM PDT U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke with three key Iraqi leaders on Wednesday to urge unity against insurgents led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and to emphasize the need to form an inclusive government after national elections held on April 30, the White House said. Biden spoke separately with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as well as Maliki's Sunni rival, parliamentary speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, and Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. "In each call, the vice president also stressed the need for national unity in responding to the ISIL threat against all Iraqi communities, for coordination on security issues going forward, and for moving forward with urgency in forming a new government under the constitution," the White House said in a statement about the phone calls.

Biden praises Iraqi leaders for unity against ISIL Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:57 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is praising Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders for showing solidarity against al-Qaida-inspired insurgents who have plunged Iraq into violence.

Ghost of Iraq haunts Condoleezza Rice portrait unveiling Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:42 PM PDT Iraq was the ghost in the room Wednesday as Condoleezza Rice returned to the State Department to reflect on her time as the top US diplomat saying history would be the judge. Rice, who was the national security advisor and secretary of state under president George W. Bush, did not once mention the renewed crisis in the country that US troops invaded in 2003 on the orders of the Bush administration. Nor did current Secretary of State John Kerry, who called instead for greater bipartisanship as he welcomed Rice for the unveiling of her portrait to be hung alongside those of legends of American diplomacy such as Ben Franklin and George Washington.

Tehran, world powers 'begin drafting nuclear deal' Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:39 PM PDT Iran and world powers started drafting Wednesday a comprehensive nuclear agreement but still face many sticking points, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. "This does not mean we have reached an agreement," said Zarif, according to IRNA news agency. "Fundamental disagreements" continue to divide Iran and the P5+1 powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- he said. Iran's top negotiator Abbas Araqchi earlier told IRNA news agency that Iran hoped to settle all differences with the six powers by the target date.

Official: 150 Australians fighting in Syria, Iraq Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:38 PM PDT CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Around 150 Australians have fought with radical militants in Syria and Iraq, raising government fears of a terrorist threat to Australia if the fighters return home, the foreign minister said on Thursday.

Bergdahl’s Roommate: Court-Martial Him Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:14 PM PDT At a tense congressional hearing, retired Army Spc. Cody Full called the former Taliban prisoner's decision to walk off his post 'the ultimate betrayal.'

Iraq's al-Maliki extends overtures to rivals Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:07 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces and Sunni militants battled fiercely for control of the nation's largest oil refinery on Wednesday as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went on a diplomatic offensive, reaching out in a televised address to try to regain support from the nation's disaffected Sunnis and Kurds.

Iraqi detainee at Guantanamo charged with war crimes Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:59 PM PDT Fort Meade (United States) (AFP) - An Iraqi held at Guantanamo Bay's top-secret camp 7 faces a possible life sentence after a US military judge charged him with five counts of war crimes on Wednesday. The United States accuses Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, 53, of being a senior Al-Qaeda military commander alongside Osama bin Laden and of having sponsored deadly attacks against Americans and their allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The White House is facing a political backlash over the release from the detention facility at Guantanamo of five senior Taliban figures in exchange for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl.

President Obama weighs 'do nothing' option in Iraq Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:54 PM PDT President Obama distanced himself Wednesday from increasingly robust calls for air strikes in Iraq, opting against imminent US military action in favor of taking a breath. In the meantime, some current and former military commanders are stepping forward to make "the case for doing nothing" in Iraq. Former commander of US forces in Iraq, retired Gen. David Petraeus, was one of the most notable voices cautioning against the use of military force Wednesday, saying the Pentagon should step in only if the Iraqi government could get the politics right. It was a message that was apparent, too, in the wait-and-see warnings earlier in the day from America's top military officer, Gen. Martin Dempsey.

Iraqi faces charges after 7 years at Guantanamo Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:34 PM PDT GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — A Guantanamo prisoner accused of being an al-Qaida commander who organized deadly attacks in Afghanistan had his first day in court Wednesday more than seven years after he was taken to this U.S. base.

Maliki or ISIS? Neither looks good to Sunni Awakening veterans Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:34 PM PDT The last time the Al Qaeda franchise raised its head in Iraq, its brutal tactics convinced many fellow Sunnis to take them on. Back then, fresh-faced Abu Omar was a local leader of the US-backed "Sons of Iraq," trying to put a lid on Sunni militancy.  But today, as Sunni jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) advance across the country, he sits at home in a dark blue polo shirt playing with his children, unable to stop a storm that he says is threatening to engulf Iraq again. But the stunning ISIS advance is riding what some top Sunni politicians – echoed by local players like Abu Omar – say is a much wider "revolution" against the unabashedly Shiite-first policies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Partisan civility as Kerry honors Condoleezza Rice Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:32 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare display of bipartisan civility, Democrats and Republicans came together on Wednesday to honor former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

YOU BET THIS IS SWIFTBOATING Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:31 PM PDT Rosemary Woods erased part of a White House tape nearly half a century ago, and Chris Matthews is still talking about it. But Obama couldn't leave a few troops in Iraq simply to preserve our victory. Don't whine about not "knowing" if Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was a deserter. The Pentagon investigated Bergdahl's disappearance back in 2010 and concluded that he had walked away from his unit of his own free will.

Chile Ends Spain’s Reign Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:30 PM PDT The tough little South Americans send the 2010 champions packing.

Gulf nations struggle with Iraq militant blowback Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:12 PM PDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia and other petro-powerhouses of the Gulf for years encouraged a flow of private cash to Sunni rebels in Syria. Now an al-Qaida breakaway group that benefited from some of that funding has stormed across a wide swath of Iraq, and Gulf nations fear its extremism could be a threat to them as well.

Republican leader: Obama may act on own in Iraq Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:08 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama believes he does not need authorization from Congress for any steps he might take to quell the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency sweeping through Iraq, the Senate's top Republican said after the president briefed senior lawmakers Wednesday.

US sees no 'major disruption' to Iraqi oil supplies Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:05 PM PDT Washington has not seen any major disruption in Iraqi oil supplies amid a militant assault on a large refinery, a US official said Wednesday, but warned Iraq may have to import fuel for its own needs. Oil markets were spooked Wednesday as militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked the Baiji oil refinery, north of Baghdad, as they pressed an assault which has already seen them capture a large swath of northern Iraq. Analysts said a takeover of Baiji by the rebels could pressure domestic fuel supply in northern Iraq. "Iraqi authorities may need to import domestic fuel from neighboring countries," Psaki said.

Congressman Fattah Statement on Iraq Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:02 PM PDT WASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a 10-term member of Congress who voted against the war in Iraq in 2002, made the following statement as the crisis in Iraq escalates and the U.S. considers military options: "The single most important vote I have cast in foreign policy was a vote against the war in Iraq nearly 12 years ago. "It was an unmitigated mistake for the United States to enter Iraq from the start.

The Cheneys’ Permanent War Posted: 18 Jun 2014 03:00 PM PDT For Liz and Dick, Al Qaeda is always America's top threat and a never-ending excuse to attack Democrats.

Fed holds course on lowered US growth forecast Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:49 PM PDT The Federal Reserve slashed its 2014 growth forecast for the US economy after the rough winter but kept policy on hold on Wednesday, showing faith in a modest rebound. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the economy had picked up after the first quarter's contraction, but she also downplayed a pickup of inflation as any sign of a need to tighten monetary policy. As expected the Federal Open Market Committee cuts its stimulus program back by another $10 billion, to $35 billion a month, compared with $85 billion in December before the taper began. It also left the benchmark federal funds interest rate at 0-0.25 percent, where it has been since the end of 2008, arguing that the economy still needs such extraordinary accommodation into next year, when the rate is expected to rise.

Glenn Beck’s Iraq Flip Flop Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:48 PM PDT Following the twists and turns of the conservative talk-show host's own record.

Obama under pressure to respond to Iraq crisis Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:37 PM PDT US President Barack Obama faced demands for a new US strategy on the deepening crisis in Iraq on Wednesday, as the White House insisted he had not ruled out Baghdad's request for air strikes. But there were no signs that renewed military action was imminent in a war that Obama had declared at an end, as the president mulled a range of options drawn up by his advisors. The White House, pushing back on reports that said that Obama had decided that no strikes would take place immediately, said that he had yet to discount direct military action. "The only thing the president has ruled out is sending troops back into combat in Iraq, but he continues to consider other options," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Obama, Congress leaders reviewed options for Iraq: White House Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:18 PM PDT President Barack Obama updated congressional leaders on Wednesday on the situation in Iraq and reviewed what he sees as options for "increased security assistance" for the country, which is grappling with insurgents led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. "The president provided an update on the administration's efforts to respond to the threat from ISIL by urging Iraq's leaders to set aside sectarian agendas and to come together with a sense of national unity," the White House said in a statement after the Oval Office meeting, which lasted more than an hour. "He also reviewed our efforts to strengthen the capacity of Iraq's security forces to confront the threat from ISIL, including options for increased security assistance," the White House said, noting Obama sought the views of the leaders and said he would continue to consult Congress.

From Combat to Compost, Veteran's New Gig is Green and Rewarding Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:09 PM PDT Justen Garrity plunges his hand into a wooden bin of decomposed food scraps, wood chips, and worm feces still crawling with the thousands of red wigglers that made them. "We sell the heck out of the worm poop," says the Army veteran as he cradles a dark, wriggling mound of vermicompost, a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil rejuvenator highly prized by gardeners. The worm barn is a long way from Iraq, where the former Army captain led a unit that cleared roadside bombs and repaired bomb craters.

Obama: No additional authority to act in Iraq Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says President Barack Obama told congressional leaders that he doesn't need additional authority for any military action to deal with the crisis in Iraq.

Wall Street gains on Fed's view; S&P 500 ends at a record Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:02 PM PDT By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 ending at a record after the Federal Reserve hinted at a slightly faster pace of interest-rate increases starting next year but suggested rates in the long run would be lower than it had indicated previously. The benchmark S&P 500 set intraday and closing record highs while the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX or the VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, fell to its lowest since February 2007. "It's onwards and upwards for equities, especially after the Fed's announcements today," said Mike Arone, chief investment strategist for State Street Global Advisors' intermediary business in Boston. "There is an improved labor environment and inflation that is still below what the Fed considers a normal level," Arone said.

What to do in Iraq? Obama consults Congress Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:59 PM PDT President Barack Obama briefed leaders of Congress on options for quelling an al-Qaida-inspired insurgency in Iraq as Republicans lawmakers and administration officials clashed Wednesday over who is to blame for the militants' lightning gains.

TSX hits six-year high after Fed comments, nears record Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:51 PM PDT Canada's main stock index reached its highest level in six years on Wednesday and came within striking distance of its all-time high after the U.S. Federal Reserve shed some light on its plans to raise interest rates. That helped the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE close up 53.36 points, or 0.35 percent, at 15,109.25. The benchmark, which has climbed in 13 of the last 14 sessions, is up almost 11 percent this year and has outperformed most major stock indexes. "We think that the market is rising on a fair degree of complacency and expectations that trees will grow to the sky," said John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada, who views share prices as expensive.

Freed Bahraini activist urges government to seek reconciliation Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:50 PM PDT By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - One of the Arab world's best-known human rights activists urged his native Bahrain on Wednesday to look beyond the Sunni-Shi'ite divide to end a political stand-off in the U.S.-allied kingdom. Nabeel Rajab, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights founder released last month after two years in jail, said opposition protests there would continue if the government did not treat its citizens equally. Rajab said the Arab Spring protests had frightened the Arab Gulf states and accused them of using the Sunni-Sunni divide, a religious faultline that has fueled an eruption of violence in Iraq this month, to crack down on dissent. "If the government is willing to treat people equally, I think we could solve half of our problem," he said.

Oil slips below $106 on supply data Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:43 PM PDT The price of U.S. oil fell below $106 per barrel Wednesday for the first time in a week on higher than expected supplies, though global crude rose to a 9-month high as violence in Iraq continued. Benchmark ...

Iraq asks United States for air support to counter rebels Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:33 PM PDT By Ghazwan Hassan and Phil Stewart BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq has asked the United States for air support in countering Sunni rebels, the top U.S. general said on Wednesday, after the militants seized major cities in a lightning advance that has routed the Shi'ite-led government's army. However, General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave no direct reply when asked at a Congressional hearing whether Washington would agree to the request. Baghdad said it wanted U.S. air strikes as the insurgents, led by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), battled their way into the biggest oil refinery in Iraq and the president of neighbouring Iran raised the prospect of intervening in a sectarian war that threatens to sweep across Middle East frontiers. "We have a request from the Iraqi government for air power," Dempsey told a Senate hearing in Washington.

ISIS advance in Iraq forces Gulf donors to rethink their patronage Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:30 PM PDT When the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) escalated its fight against fellow rebels in Syria late last year, private donors in the Persian Gulf were rattled. For three years, a network of clerics and Sunni politicians had funded anti-regime groups in Syria, including other jihadi factions such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhut al-Nusra – groups now at war with ISIS. In October, Kuwaiti donor Mohammed Haif announced on Twitter that there had been a meeting of elders trying to reason with ISIS members and their families. Another Saudi cleric, Yousef bin Abdallah Al Ahmad, tried to broker peace between the leader of ISIS and Salafi brigade Ahrar al Sham.  Other donors alleged sedition: ISIS is "actively seeking to burn all the gains of the Syrian jihad," another Kuwaiti donor, the cleric Shafi Al Ajmi, wrote in a Tweet.

Iraqi leaders' sectarianism fueled militant advance: US Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:25 PM PDT Islamist militants have rolled over the Iraqi army because the Shiite-led government has pursued a sectarian agenda that alienated Sunnis, the top-ranking US military officer said Wednesday. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that Baghdad had requested US "air power" to fend off the onslaught of Sunni extremists. He said senior US officers in recent years have conveyed to the Iraqi government the risks of their political approach and the need to serve all the country's religious and ethnic communities. In recent fighting in northern Iraq, militants in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were able to "turn" officers in the Iraqi army, persuading them to side with them, he said.

Partisan civility as Kerry fetes Condoleezza Rice Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:25 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare display of bipartisan civility, Democrats and Republicans came together on Wednesday to honor former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Global oil prices diverge as market eyes Iraq Posted: 18 Jun 2014 01:06 PM PDT Global oil prices diverged Wednesday as the leading US benchmark fell following an American energy inventory report while the main European contract rose in response to more violence in Iraq. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 39 cents to $105.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But Brent oil for August delivery, which is traded in London, advanced 81 cents to $114.26 a barrel. Wednesday's trade was similar to Tuesday, when WTI fell ahead of the US supply report, but Brent gained due to Iraq.

Democrat vs. Democrat: five tough primaries that pit left against itself Posted: 18 Jun 2014 12:53 PM PDT This is the only Democratic Senate primary this cycle that's competitive, but it's a barn-burner. Senator Schatz got his seat by gubernatorial appointment in 2012, replacing the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D). Schatz's appointment was controversial: Senator Inouye had requested before his death that Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) give the seat to Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. Schatz is only the second non-Asian to represent Hawaii in the Senate, adding a racial component to the primary.

Boehner Says Obama Should 'Absolutely Not' Coordinate With Iran On Iraq Crisis Posted: 18 Jun 2014 12:37 PM PDT House Speaker Has Advice for the President on Iraq

Iraq strategy: Obama, Congress leaders meeting Posted: 18 Jun 2014 12:29 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has shifted his focus away from airstrikes in Iraq as an imminent option for slowing the insurgency, in part because there are few clear targets the U.S. could hit, officials say.

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